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Focus Louisiana Photographic Society December 2014, Page 1 Volume 31 • Issue 12 December• 2014

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Monthly newsletter of Louisiana Photographic Society, Baton Rouge, LA

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Page 1: Focus December 2014

Focus Louisiana Photographic Society December 2014, Page 1

Volume 31 • Issue 12 December• 2014

Page 2: Focus December 2014

Focus Louisiana Photographic Society December 2014, Page 2

What a Year! It’s hard to believe that another year is coming to an end. I have thoroughly enjoyed serving as president of LPS. A lot of good people worked together with me, and they made a lot of good things happen. Linda Medine, who will be next year’s president, served as vice president and maintained our website. Janet Gelpi, our treasurer, kept our finances in order. Our secretary, Cathy Smart, took care of our minutes and official correspondence. Gene Bachman, our immediate past president, rounded out the executive board. Donald Ewing operated our projector for both digital competitions and for our speaker’s presentations. Debra Canatella scheduled many useful workshops through the year. Our equipment was always present and in working order thanks to the efforts of Mike Capone. LPS members had many opportunities to exhibit their work due to the diligence of Kathy Reeves. Our Facebook page was kept up-to-date by Stephanie Ross. Ken Wilson planned a spate of field trips. Gene Bachman and Cindy Hunt made sure that LPS was well-represented in GSCCC digital and print competitions, respectively. Pat Riddick graciously served as our library coordinator, though she mostly found herself short of patrons. Tommy Graner coordinated all of our competitions, print and digital, and will announce the Photographers of the Year at our Christmas party. Renee Pierce published excellent newsletters each month. Elizabeth Mangham and Pam Kaster secured the speakers for each month’s program. Late in the year, Cindy Hunt assumed the role of PSA competition coordinator. Mark Claesgens once again did an excellent job of keeping LPS in the public eye. Dennis Stevens made sure that a good supply of refreshments were available at each meeting. Countless others brought refreshments, cleaned up after meetings, set up chairs, and performed many other tasks, some of which may have gone unnoticed. To all of you, I say, “Thank you!” Please support next years LPS leaders as you have supported me. -David Arbour

Message

President's DECEMBER EVENTS

December 7, 2014

Rural Life Christmas 12:30 pm

December 9, 2014

Christmas Party 6:30 pm at the home of Toni Goss

18733 Lake Harbour Drive, 70816

December 24, 2014

Bonfires on the Levee Trip 4:45 pm Depart McDonald’s Drusilla

No Monthly Meeting 7:00 pm

Louisiana Photographic Society meets on the third Thursday

of each month at the Goodwood Library

7711 Goodwood Blvd Baton Rouge, LA 70806

Guests are always welcome!

Membership dues are $25/year

Each additional family member $5/year

PO Box 83834 Baton Rouge, LA 70884

www.laphotosociety.com

Cover photo : Renee Pierce

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Focus Louisiana Photographic Society December 2014, Page 3

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Focus Louisiana Photographic Society December 2014, Page 4

Effective January 15, 2015 our meetings will be held in the newly renovat-ed East Baton Rouge Parish Library located on Goodwood Boulevard. This is a larger room which will allow us more space and public visibility. If you enter from the newly opened Goodwood side parking lot you will head down the hallway to the right before entering the actual library. The room is at the end of the hall on the right. If you prefer to continue park-ing in the Garden Center parking lot and enter from the rear the room will be on your left as you enter. Hope to see you at 7:00 pm on Thursday, January 15th!

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Focus Louisiana Photographic Society December 2014, Page 5

Dues Now Due

$25.00 per year

What do you get for your $25.00?

Lightroom

Camera Basics

Portraits

Macro

HDR

Travel Photography

Photo Critique/Evaluation

Education

LPS monthly meetings in

print and digital

GSCCC monthly in print

and digital

PSA bi-monthly digital

Competition

Livingston Parish Arts

Council

River Region Arts

Council

EBRP Libraries

Old State Capitol

Exhibits

Civil War Reenactments

Sugar Cane Tour

Flower and Plant

Excursions

Access to “non-public”

places

Hot Rod Shows

Rural Life Events

WWII Museum

Out of Town Trips

Annual Mystery Tour

Field Trips

Meet New

People &

Build

Friendships

Enjoy informative speakers at monthly meetings.

Build a network of

experienced photographers to learn from and then share your knowledge with a beginning photographer!

It is time to renew your LPS membership. Our year runs from January to December. If you have not already done so, please pay your dues for 2015. The first person in the household pays $25.00 and additional members of the same family living in the house may join for an additional $5.00. You must be current on your dues to participate in competitions, go on field trips and have your images entered in GSCCC and PSA competitions.

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Focus Louisiana Photographic Society December 2014, Page 6

Field Trips December 6, 2014 Sugar Cane Tour,

Cora-Texas Plantation, White Castle, LA

Cancelled Due to health issues of the host. Because of the seasonal nature of the trip, it will not be rescheduled this year.

December 7, 2014, LSU Rural Life Christmas Meet at the Rural Life Museum, 4560 Essen Lane Baton Rouge, Louisiana at 12:30 pm. Ring in the Holiday season with a 19th century Louisiana celebration at the LSU Rural Life Museum. Decorations with natural trimmings representative of special times of long ago will be displayed throughout the Museum’s grounds. Seasonal activities such as musical groups, demonstrating artisans, open hearth cooking, storytellers, and costumed re-enactors will be present during this event. Admission: $9.00 per person. The event will con-clude at 6pm with a bonfire and a visit from Papa Noel. Food and drink available for purchase. Join us when you can and stay as long as you like.

December 24, 2014, Bonfires on the Levee in Paulina, LA Leave McDonald’s on Drusilla at 4:45pm, to be in place at 5:45pm. Mix, mingle and shoot along the levee until the bonfires are lit at 7pm. It can be quite cold and/or wet so be prepared.

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Focus Louisiana Photographic Society December 2014, Page 7

To participate in exhibits and monthly competitions, you must be a member of LPS in good standing;

your dues must be paid.

JAN Print 1/15 Things That Begin With The Letter “B”

FEB Projection 2/19 No Theme

MAR Print 3/19 Photojournalism

APR Projection 4/16 No Theme

MAY Print 5/21 No Theme

JUN Projection 6/18 Old Everything [Barns/Signs/Etc. (Things Only)]

JUL Print 7/16 Elements of Water [Snow/Rain/Fog/Ice/Water]

AUG Projection 8/20 No Theme

SEPT Print 9/17 No Theme

OCT Projection 10/15 ZOO/Captive Animals

NOV Print 11/19 No Theme

All prints must be mounted (matting is an option) such that they are self-supporting for vertical display.

Frames are not allowed. All photos shall be 5” X 7” or larger and not to exceed 24” in width. These are the outside dimensions and shall include the matting.

Digitally projected entries must be sent to the Digital Projection Coordinator [email protected] no later than 8:00 P.M. on the Monday before the Thursday competition. Sizing guidelines: Height 1200 pixels Width 1920 pixels Total size should be less than 2.3 megs. Full instructions may be found here.

2015 Competition Schedule

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Focus Louisiana Photographic Society December 2014, Page 8

Fog! This creates such a surreal, mysterious photo. Fall lends itself to those fog photos in Louisiana because there are vast fluctuations in our temperature. One day it may be cold and then the next not so cold and then even warm. Extreme changes in weather conditions with the longer nights and cooler air that are still affected by the warm temperatures and humidity from the summer attributes to our fog. Set a fog alert from a favorite weather application via computer or smart phone. Watch for those drastic changes in weather. Usually early morning is the best time to expect fog and then expect it to leave by midmorning. But fog may unexpectedly appear at any time. This is one of the great reasons never to be without your camera. Have a location in mind that includes a pleasant foreground, with camera gear ready, get up early, and then act quickly because fog changes rapidly.

You should be able to capture the fog with your favorite camera and your favorite lens, whether compact camera or DSLR. But as always, I recommend using a tripod. If a tripod is not possible try leaning against a sturdy object or set the camera atop a support. If no object or tripod, increase the shutter speed and ISO setting and change the aperture to a more shallow depth of field to allow for more light to enter the camera. These settings allow for a sharper detailed photograph when less light is present. The camera sensors today allow for higher resolution and lower noise so don’t be afraid to experiment. Learn your camera. Increase the exposure setting to +0.5EV so that the photograph will not be too dark because fog is near white. For photographs primarily with white objects such as fog, a bird, or snow it is suggested to increase the exposure and for dark objects in a photograph decrease the exposure such as -0.5EV. Ultimately, bracket the exposures by taking at least three different exposures or images each from -0.5EV to +0.5EV. You can then use the best exposure or in a photo editing program merge them together. Note: This merging of photos is advanced photography editing but maybe something you want to consider learning to enhance your photography skills. Check your camera manual to learn about exposure settings. I suggest also taking other photographs focusing on the subject rather than the fog. Did I forget to mention that many shots are taken to get that one perfect image?

Photograph while the fog is thick and then watch and photograph as the fog moves and then lifts to become thinner. If the fog gets too thin it sometimes looks as though your photograph is not clear or is not sharp and will not portray the beauty of the fog. Knowing how to photograph fog and portraying it correctly is an art.

Our next LPS meeting is being held January 15, at 7:00 PM, and is held every third Thursday of each month. For more information visit our website at: Louisiana Photographic Society

Picture Perfect

Published December 2014

by Theresa Mullins-Low

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Focus Louisiana Photographic Society December 2014, Page 9

This - N-That

We need someone to be the GSCCC Print coordinator. This involves collecting and selecting prints to be mailed to the designated judging club each month in accordance with the competition schedule. You will be reimbursed each month for the mailing expenses. If you are interest-ed in this position, please contact Linda Medine for more details.

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Focus Louisiana Photographic Society December 2014, Page 10

In our ongoing effort to catalog every cultural nook and cranny in the region, we turn our gaze (and lens) to the forgotten, faded things. That crumbling bridge spanning out to nowhere. That echoing building with its occu-pants long gone. The theme is "Relics," and we're opening the door to your photo submissions.

Each month in 2015, we will profile a different photograph on the back page of Country Roads, accompanied by an interview with the adventurous photographer. Are you up to snuff? Here's how to enter: Send your submissions to [email protected] with the subject line "Relics: 2015 Photo Project." In-clude a short description of the photo (including a title for the photo, location, and history if you can provide it).

All photographs should be at least 300dpi and larger than 4.5 inches. Photographers may submit up to four pho-tos at once. We will be accepting submissions all year.

Relics: 2015 Photo Project

Lynda.com is now available FREE with your Library card. Lots of great video training of pho-tography and ed-iting software as well as many oth-er topic.

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Focus Louisiana Photographic Society December 2014, Page 11

2015 Art Exhibition

Steele Burden Memorial Orangerie and Ione Burden Conference Center

Awards and Ribbons:

The Art Show in the Orangerie First Place* – $400 Second Place* – $300 Third Place* – $200 Honorable Mention* – $150 Four Merit Awards

The Photography Show in the Conference Center First Place *– $400

Second Place* – $300

Third Place* – $200

Honorable Mention*– $150

Four Merit Awards

Theme: The Nature and Culture of Louisiana

*All award-winning works will be displayed following the show (April 1 to April 30) at the Shaw Center for the Arts.

Eligibility This show is open to all U.S. residents 17 years of age and older and to all art media except video and film. Works must be original, must have been produced in the past three years and must never have been exhibited in Brush With Burden. All artwork must be priced and available for sale. Please consider your framing expenses when pricing your piece.

Submission The 2015 Brush with Burden Art Show and Sale’s entry process will be conducted using CaFÉ™, a Web- based ser-vice that allows artists to submit images and entry fees online.

Entries

A maximum of six entries will be accepted from any artist.

File format: JPEG only.

File dimensions: No smaller than 1920 pixels on the longest side.

File resolution: 72 ppi/dpi (standard Web resolution).

File size: 3 megabytes maximum.

Uploaded image should show artwork or photograph only. No framing should be visible.

Works to be in the exhibition will be selected based on the digital images submitted. Only one digital image should be submitted for each piece.

Fees A nonrefundable fee of $20 for one entry and $15 for each additional entry (up to six entries) should be submitted. Fees can be paid online or can be mailed to: LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens, Attn: Michelle Fuller, 4650 Essen Lane, Baton Rouge, LA 70809. Make checks payable to BHS, with “Brush With Burden entry fee” in memo line. All checks must be postmarked by Jan. 15, 2015. (Registration is not complete until fee is received.)

Sales All artwork submitted must be priced for sale. A 25 percent commission will be assessed on all sales. Proceeds from the sale of artwork support initiatives of the LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens.

Full information my be found on the LSUAgCenter page. Full .pdf file is at the bottom of the page.

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Focus Louisiana Photographic Society December 2014, Page 12

PSA Interclub Competition LPS is now competing in the Photographic Society of America - Projected Image - General Division - Interclub Competition. This competition will be held four times each competition year, beginning in the fall. Judging will be in November, January, March, and May. Any club that is a PSA member may chose to compete as a club, with honors awarded to individuals, and to the clubs with the highest accumulated points for the year. The General category is open to both color and black and white images, and manipulations are acceptable. The photographs will be digital only and will meet PSA’s general requirements for photographs entered into exhibitions. (The photographic work must be the maker’s, commercial clip art is not allowed, etc.) LPS members in good standing are eligible to submit entries for consideration beginning in December. The images for the January competition will be due December 15th. We are in the process of setting up a new email address for submissions and finalizing documentation of the submission process. More information and full details will be posted in the December newsletter. This is an international club competition. It is recommended that you preview prior PSA winning entries on the PSA website. If you have any questions, please contact Cindy Hunt, PSA Competition Coordinator.

In addition to the interclub competitions you, as an individual member of PSA, can enter contests. Some are digital and some are print. Categories include Individual Creative, Individual Portrait, Photo Essay, Nature, Photojournalism, Photo Travel, and Pictorial Print. By visiting the links provided you will find all the guidelines and deadlines for submitting as well as galleries of previous winners. We as a club are limited to 6 images every other month but you as an individual member may submit on your own. I encourage you to consider joining PSA.

Here is a partial list of the member benefits you receive for only $45.00 a year: PSA Journal full-color monthly magazine (mailed & online) and annual Who's Who in

Photography publication Opportunity to submit articles for potential publication in the PSA Journal Access to My PSA free web site services

(e.g., Image Evaluation, Mentors, Consultants, resource links, up-to-date product and book reviews) Free online Individualized Photography Course, Advanced Photography Course, and Image Analysis Course Free Study Groups: online for digital images and via mail for prints Free services (e.g., Species Identification Service, Photo Travel Planning Service, Digital Product Information) Listing in and access to online Membership List following login Publication of photos on the PSA web site (e.g., a photo in the New Member Gallery on joining, in the Show

Your Stuff Gallery on renewing for year two, and in ROPA Galleries following receipt of a PSA Distinction) Creation of a personal photo gallery on the PSA web site for posting up to twenty (20) images and a

biography Use of PSA logo on personal web site and business card Competitions for specific topics/themes (e.g., Creative, Portrait) or format (e.g., 3D, digital essays, story

boards, B&W prints) Reduced fee for PSA Adventures (e.g., Humanitarian trip to Cuba, cruises) Discounts on photography-related products and services

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Focus Louisiana Photographic Society December 2014, Page 13

PSA Competition PSA DIGITAL INTERCLUB COMPETITION

CALL FOR ENTRIES - DUE DECEMBER 15TH

General Category: Color or B&W digital images; manipulations are acceptable

Image Size: Horizontal - 1024 pixels wide (max) x 768 tall Vertical - 768 pixels tall (max)

Format: JPEG

Color Space: sRGB color space recommended

File Name: Title of Image Email digital entries to the PSA Competition Coordinator @ [email protected]

Enter in subject line: PSA Competition Enter in body of email: Last name, first name - title of image Attach image to the email and submit by due date

Must be an LPS member in good standing to participate- dues paid Club Entries Allowed: Each club may enter up to 6 images by 6 different makers.

The final six images will be voted upon by a committee. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please contact PSA Competition Coordinator, Cindy

Hunt.

Digital membership - (Adult or Youth)

Includes online and mobile access to PSA Journal (NO printed PSA Journal by mail)

Digital Membership - Adult $45

Standard Membership - (Adult or Youth)

Includes printed copy of PSA Journal by mail AND complimentary access to online and mobile PSA Jour-nal

Adult Membership $60

Join PSA Today!

What a great item to put on your Christmas gift list. At only $45 per year it makes the perfect gift for the photographer. Check out all the benefits. Be sure to use member number 999858 when joining.

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Focus Louisiana Photographic Society December 2014, Page 14

On Golden Pond Linda Medine

1st Place

W inners

Digital Level A

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Focus Louisiana Photographic Society December 2014, Page 15

Migrating Humming Birds Kathy Reeves

2nd Place

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Focus Louisiana Photographic Society December 2014, Page 16

Shrimping on a Fall Night Theresa Mullins Low

3rd Place

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Focus Louisiana Photographic Society December 2014, Page 17

Standing Tall David Howell

1st Honorable Mention

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Focus Louisiana Photographic Society December 2014, Page 18

New England Color Sheldon Anderson

2nd Honorable Mention

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Focus Louisiana Photographic Society December 2014, Page 19

W inners

Print Level B

Ansel’s Elm Chris Garcia

1st Place

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Focus Louisiana Photographic Society December 2014, Page 20

W inners

Wings Over Houston Blue Angels at Sunrise Patrick Beard

3rd Place

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Focus Louisiana Photographic Society December 2014, Page 21

Purple and Gold Robin Stevens

1st Honorable Mention

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Focus Louisiana Photographic Society December 2014, Page 22

My Great Grandfather’s Barn Linda Medine

1st Place

W inners

Print Monotone

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Focus Louisiana Photographic Society December 2014, Page 23

Just Buzz’n Around Sheldon Anderson

2nd Place

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Focus Louisiana Photographic Society December 2014, Page 24

Shrimping in Robinson Canal Cathy Smart

3rd Place

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Focus Louisiana Photographic Society December 2014, Page 25

3 Camera Lessons Every New Photographer Should Learn jmeyer | Photography for Beginners

Copied from DigitalCameraWorld.com

If you’ve just bought your first camera, you’re probably finding a bit of a learning curve in getting up to speed with all of its bells and whistles. There are a number of great beginner photography tutorials out there that can help you get to grips with all that functionality.

Before you get you get started, though, there are three fundamental concepts you need to understand: how your cam-era’s shutter speed scale works; how focal length affects your composition; and how your aperture controls what’s sharp.

We’ve explained each of these concepts below, and we’ve also compiled everything into a handy photography cheat sheet for you to download and save!

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Focus Louisiana Photographic Society December 2014, Page 26

Camera Lesson No. 1: Get to know the shutter speed scale Your shutter speed is one of the two ways of controlling the exposure (the other is the lens aperture). In normal, everyday photography, you might not have to worry too much about the shutter speed, as long as it’s fast enough to avoid camera-shake.

But when you’re shooting fast-moving objects, the shutter speed takes on a whole new role. The longer the shutter is open, the further your subject will move during the exposure.

To freeze your subject, you can simply use a fast shutter speed. What many sports photographers do, though, is set a slower shutter and ‘pan’ the shot, following the subject in the viewfinder as they press the shutter. This keeps the subject sharp but blurs the background, conveying motion.

SEE MORE: What is shutter speed – 7 questions new photographers always ask

Camera Lesson No. 2: How focal length affects a scene Lenses are categorized according to their ‘focal length’. This is another way of describing their angle of view.

The shorter the focal length, the wider the angle of view – hence the term ‘wide-angle lenses’.

When you shoot with a wide-angle lens (such as a 10-18mm), you get more in the frame but objects look smaller.

The longer the focal length (such as 100-200mm), the narrower the angle of view. You get less in the frame, but subjects are magnified. This is what is meant by ‘telephoto’ lens.

Most lenses these days are zooms, which is convenient because they cover a range of focal lengths.

The 18-55mm lens that comes with many new cameras, for example, has a focal range of 18‑55mm, for wide-angle shots at one end of the range and modest telephoto ones at the other.

These kit lenses are a good all-rounder, but sooner or later you’ll want to expand your shooting options with extra lenses.

Camera Lesson No. 3: The relationship between focusing and aperture The lens aperture is just one of the controls used to get the exposure right. It controls the amount of light hitting the sen-sor, while the shutter speed controls the length of the exposure.

The size of the lens aperture also affects the depth of field in the picture. Shallow depth of field is where only your main subject is sharp, and any objects in the background or nearer to the camera are out of focus. You get this from using wide lens apertures, eg f/4.

However, you can also increase the depth of field by using a narrower lens aperture (eg f/22), which makes objects at different distances look sharper.

It’s important to understand how your camera’s autofocus system works so you can ensure it’s focusing on the right part of your scene.

But it’s also important to take aperture and depth of field into account if you want to blur backgrounds or make your shots look perfectly sharp, from the foreground into the distance.

Depth of field explained The aperture is the main factor in dictating how much of the scene appears pin-sharp. The narrower the aperture (larger f/number) the more of the image will be in focus; the wider the aperture, the less of the image will be in focus.

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Focus Louisiana Photographic Society December 2014, Page 27

What is your lens’ sweet spot? It’s something you’ve probably heard mentioned before, but all a lens’ ‘sweet spot’ really means is the aperture setting at which it is the sharpest (learn how to Master your aperture with our free f-stop chart).

It’s important to understand that your lens doesn’t retain the same level of sharpness throughout its aperture range, so by finding your lens’ sweet spot you will put yourself in a better position for getting sharper images.

The unofficial rule states that your lens’ sweet spot will usually sit somewhere in the mid-range apertures of f/8 to f/11. But how do you find that sweet spot? Here’s how to do it in three easy steps.

How to find your lens’ sweet spot Step 1: Set your digital camera on a tripod and attach a sheet of newspaper to a flat wall (see 4 tips for sharper shots when using a tripod). The share price pages from a broadsheet work best, as you get small text across two pages.

How to Find Your Lens’ Sweet Spot jmeyer | Photography for Beginners

Copied from DigitalCameraWorld.com

Step 2: Make sure your lens is pointed straight at the paper. Focus on it, then take a series of pictures at each full aperture stop (f/4, f/5.6, f/8, f/11, f/16 and f/22, for example).

Step 3: Look at the shots on your PC screen, zooming in to 100%. You’ll see a difference in clarity and contrast between each setting.

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Focus Louisiana Photographic Society December 2014, Page 28

Member Submissions

The following images are from 2 recent field trips, the All Saints Day cemetery trip and the Mystery Trip in Ba-ton Rouge.

Sheila Eeds

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Focus Louisiana Photographic Society December 2014, Page 29

Sheila Eeds

Sheila Eeds

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Focus Louisiana Photographic Society December 2014, Page 30

Sheila Eeds

Sheila Eeds

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Focus Louisiana Photographic Society December 2014, Page 31

Photos by

Linda Medine

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Focus Louisiana Photographic Society December 2014, Page 32

If you use a point-and-shoot camera or cameraphone, it’s often almost impossible not to get everything from your feet to the distant horizon in focus. But the large sensors built into DSLRs means it can be surprisingly difficult to get everything in the frame looking sharp.

That’s because the bigger sensors used on DSLR cameras mean less depth of field (DOF). While blurred back-grounds can be a real bonus for subjects such as por-traits, the limited zone of sharpness can be a problem for other types of photography.

Outdoors, you need to set up your camera carefully if you’re going to get the boulder in the foreground and the mountain in the distance both appearing in focus in the shot.

However, the same difficulties present themselves when shooting subjects that are close together, such as still life photography in your kitchen.

This is where you need a proper understanding of depth of field. In theory, only the object you focus on will be sharp, but in practice there’s a zone of apparent sharp-ness that extends behind the point you’ve focused on and in front of it.

SEE MORE: A layaman’s guide to depth of field – how to check and affect sharpness like a pro

So you need to start thinking in terms of zones of sharpness rather than fixed focus points, and plan your cam-era settings accordingly.

Several factors affect depth of field, including the focal length you’re using, the lens aperture, your distance from the subject and where you focus.

Our photography tutorial below shows how it’s done. It’s a tricky subject, because our peppers are at different distances from the camera – so we need to make sure that we have enough depth of field to cover all of them.

SEE MORE: The still life photographer’s guide to lighting: 4 different techniques, 4 different effects

Still life photography: master depth of field

Still life photography: depth of field mastered in 8 steps

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Focus Louisiana Photographic Society December 2014, Page 33

01 Choose Aperture Priority mode To control depth of field, you need a mode that enables you to choose the aperture setting directly. Aperture Priority (A) mode is best for this because the camera will then set the shutter speed automatically to produce the correct exposure. This leaves you free to concentrate on focusing and depth of field.

02 Select a small aperture You can now use the command dial on your camera to close down the lens aperture to the smallest available setting. For most lenses, this is likely to be about f/22, although some macro lenses will stop down even further. This will increase the exposure time, which goes up to 1.6 seconds for the shot we’re taking here.

SEE MORE: Product photography – tips for using a light tent for irresistible images

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Focus Louisiana Photographic Society December 2014, Page 34

SEE MORE: Product photography – tips for using a light tent for irresistible images

03 Use a tripod You can’t get shake-free handheld shots with exposures this long, so a tripod is essential. It will also fix the cam-era position so that you can focus precisely. This is crucial for careful control of depth of field, because any slight shift in the camera position will affect the focus point.

SEE MORE: 8 tripod mistakes every photographer makes (and how to get it right)

04 Choose the focus mode You also need to take control of the camera’s focus point, so open the menus to check the AF-area mode setting.

SEE MORE: Take control of autofocus – which AF points to use and when to use them

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Focus Louisiana Photographic Society December 2014, Page 35

In Auto-area mode, the camera sets the focus point according to what’s nearest, so make sure you swap to ‘Single point’ mode.

05 Set the focus point With landscapes, you should aim to focus about a third of the way into the frame, but with close-ups such as this, pick a point nearer to the centre of the frame. You can use the four-way controller to move the focus point, which shows up in both the viewfinder and on the LCD.

SEE MORE: Your autofocus point options – what subjects should each be used with?

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Focus Louisiana Photographic Society December 2014, Page 36

06 Use Live View You might find this much easier to do in Live View, where you can position the focus point more precisely. Here, for example, we’ve placed it right over the stalk of the second, orange pepper. This is the perfect position to maximize the available depth of field, almost halfway up the frame.

SEE MORE: Live View – how to use it on any camera

07 Precise manual focus The alternative is to zoom in on the LCD in Live View mode, and swap to manual focus using the switch on the side of the lens. Turn the focus ring manually, judging when the area you want looks sharpest on the screen. This stops any tendency for the camera to refocus between shots.

SEE MORE: Manual focus – what you need to know to get sharp images

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Focus Louisiana Photographic Society December 2014, Page 37

08 Depth of field calculations You can look up precise distances with online tables, or use an app such as Depth of Field Calculator. Here, we type in the focus distance, focal length and aperture, and it calculates that the depth of field will be 6.5cm. If you need some help to work out hyper focal distances, the ExpoAperture2 (£30, $40, www.expoimaging.com) covers a range of sensor sizes, focal lengths and apertures.

The above article was copied from Digital Camera World, a resource I visit often. It is written by “jmeyer” and you can read more of his posts by visiting his blog.

The website has Photography tips as well as tutorials , videos and reviews. Be sure to visit the site, I think you will find it very informative and helpful.

Officers and Board Members for 2015

Linda Medine, President Theresa Low, Vice President Janet Gelpi, Treasurer Cathy Smart, Secretary David Arbour, Past-President

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Focus Louisiana Photographic Society December 2014, Page 38

The LPS website has a quick checklist

for preparation of images for digital pro-

jection competitions. The new checklist can be found on the Monthly Competi-

tion page of the website, or by using this link.

http://www.psa-photo.org/

Louisiana Photographic Society is a member of the Gulf States Camera Club Council. The GSCCC Newsletter is available at:

http://www.gulfstatesccc.org/html/newsletters.html

http://www.gulfstatesccc.org/

Find us on Facebook

LPS Members are encouraged to submit photographs and articles for inclusion in

FOCUS, the Louisiana Photographic Society Newsletter. Items received up to

3 days before the end of the month will

be included in the following month’s newsletter.

Send your submissions to:

[email protected]

Please be sure to read the sizing guidelines before submitting.

President: David Arbour [email protected]

Vice President:

Linda Medine [email protected]

Past President:

Gene Bachman [email protected]

Secretary:

Cathy Smart [email protected]

Treasurer: Janet Gelpi [email protected]

LPS OFFICERS

Digital Projection: Donald Ewing [email protected]

Education: Debra Canatella

[email protected]

Equipment: David Howell [email protected]

Exhibits: Kathy Reeves [email protected]

Facebook: Stephanie Ross [email protected]

Field Trips: Ken Wilson [email protected]

Greeter/Name Tags: Stephanie Ross [email protected]

GSCCC Representatives: Gene Bachman - Digital Cindy Hunt - Prints [email protected]

Library:

Pat Riddick [email protected]

LPS COORDINATORS

Monthly Competition: Tommy Graner [email protected]

Newsletter:

Renee Pierce [email protected]

Programs: Elizabeth Mangham & Pam Kaster [email protected]

PSA entries: Cindy Hunt

[email protected]

Publicity: Mark Claesgens

[email protected]

Refreshment: Dennis Stevens

Website: Gene Bachman [email protected]

Competition Review Chair: Gene Bachman [email protected]

Membership Drive

While we are always eager to welcome new members our Membership drive continues. Please remember to pay your dues and to invite your friends and

colleagues to our meeting and encourage them to join us this year. To continue to be eligible for competitions and receive the newsletter,

you must be current on your dues. The membership form is at the end of the newsletter.

Page 39: Focus December 2014

Focus Louisiana Photographic Society December 2014, Page 39

WELCOME TO LOUISIANA PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY LPS communicates to members through website, e-mail, and monthly meetings. All members are encouraged to visit the LPS web-

site at www.laphotosociety.com for the latest on club news and events. The monthly newsletter “FOCUS” is available on the web-

site on the first day of each month. Please provide an e-mail address below to receive club updates. If you do not receive e-mail com-

munications after 30 days, notify LPS at [email protected]. Select one: [ ] Membership Renewal [ ] New Member – If you are a New Member, how did you learn about LPS:

[ ] Current Member [ ] LPS Website [ ] Newspaper/Magazine [ ] Social Network [ ] Other______________

Select one: [ ] Individual Membership $25.00/year [ ] Student Membership $5.00/year–Must be a current student

Name _______________________________________________________ Date ______________________

Address __________________________________________ City _________________ State ____ Zip______

Home Phone ( __ )_______________________ Cell Phone ( __)_________________________

E-mail Address ___________________________________________________________________________

[ ] Additional Family Member $5.00/year–ONLY available with the Individual Membership, not Student Membership

Name _______________________________________________________ Date ______________________

Mailing Address ____________________________________ City _________________ State ____ Zip______

Home Phone ( _ )________________________ Cell Phone ( __)_____________________________

E-mail Address ____________________________________________________________________________

SPECIFY FOCUS OF PHOTOGRAPHY: SPECIFY AREA OF LEARNING INTEREST:

SPECIFY AREA OF INTEREST IN CLUB PARTICIPATION:

[ ] Competition (set up, tally votes, present ribbons) [ ] Education (plan/teach, set up workshops and seminars) [ ] Equipment (store, transport, set up for LPS functions) [ ] Exhibits (explore locations, set up/take down exhibits) [ ] Field Trips (plan and arrange to photograph at various sites) [ ] Gulf States Camera Club Council (GSCCC liaison, collect and

submit entries for GSCCC competition) [ ] Library (display and maintain materials, check-in/out)

[ ] Programs (plan speakers, make arrangements for speakers at monthly meetings) [ ] Projection (set up and operate equipment for digital projection competition) [ ] Publicity (publicize programs, meetings, events) [ ] Refreshments (plan and set up refreshments)

YOUR PARTICIPATION IS GREATLY APPRECIATED!

Membership Form

Mail completed form and dues to:

Louisiana Photographic Society P.O. Box 83834 ,Baton Rouge, LA 70884-3834

www.laphotosociety.com

MEMBER OF PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY OF AMERICA AND GULF STATES CAMERA CLUB COUNCIL